And the player battling for an England place at the World Cup admits his parents' deliberately inserted Paul Richard into his name because they were such big fans of the legendary Wales and British Lion full-back.

JPR Williams was renowned for tormenting England - he ended a 55-cap Wales career with an unblemished record of 11 against the old enemy.

But Worsley said, "My parents were big JPR fans when I was born in 1977.

"They had the name Joe ready for me so they just thought they'd stick the PR in for the crack.

"And I used to watch a 101 best tries video and JPR Williams was always one of the stand-out guys.

"I've always been a passionate Englishman - I had an Irish grandmother, but no Welsh connections - but I enjoyed watching those clips of JPR."

Worsley has yet to meet his childhood hero, but says that has been deliberate on his part.

"I saw JPR after a game once, but it would have been a bit sad to go up to him and say, 'Hey, I've got the same initials as you.' So I didn't bother with that," said Worsley.

"He looked a bit bigger than he did in those old videos - he's put on a bit of weight since he stopped playing, though he'll probably whack me for saying that, if he gets the chance."

However, the original JPR, who has remained active in rugby, tennis and squash since his heyday, is looking forward to putting the young pretender right when they do eventually meet.

Williams said, "I'm bound to bump into JPR Worsley at some stage and we can have a chat about our initials then.

"I look a lot smaller in the old videos than I do out of the gaze of the cameras.

"But I've not put any weight on since my playing days - I'm the same weight now as I was when I retired from top-flight rugby."

Anyone that knows Williams would back him up on that latter score.

There is also no denying that since the days when he was in his pomp Welsh rugby has suffered something of a dramatic slump.

That prompted Worsley to ponder, "I wonder if people will look back in 20 years time and say a similar thing about this current English era?

"Hopefully, we can keep our era going longer than Wales managed to."

Worsley is eager to stake his claim for a place in Clive Woodward's World Cup plans.

He is pleased that Wasps team-mate Robert Howley is not indulging in a similar exercise, but believes Gareth Cooper has the potential to be as good as the former Wales captain.

"Rob has been really good at Wasps," said Worsley. "He has hell of a pack in front of him - the average weight is over 18st.

"So Rob had a good time of it last season. He has been influential - and not just on the pitch.

"Yes, I am definitely glad Rob is not playing on Saturday, although Cooper is a very good player,.

"I played against him an awful lot when he was at Bath. He's a very dangerous player and I don't see why, in time, he can't be as dangerous as Rob."